Pilgrims on the Way

I took this photo at dusk. This is the twisty spire of the church of Saint-Côme-et-Saint-Damien in Saint-Côme-d’Olt. This particular style of tower is known as a twisted or flamed bell tower. There are more than sixty such towers in France, and perhaps a hundred throughout Europe. Often times they are the result of subsidence when the roof is too […]

As I mentioned the other day, the old center of Saint-Côme-d’Olt is a maze of medieval streets and alleys. In one of these, I found my gîte. They kindly let me in a little early, and after a shower I napped a while, recovering from my heat exhaustion. Here I met two people walking the extremes: Martin from Obersdorf, Bavaria, […]

This is the village church of Saint-Côme-d’Olt. Previously, I posted some photos of the interior, but I think the exterior is just as striking, if for different reasons. It’s been restored and had so much rebuilding work done that it’s difficult to see what the original design might have been. The tower is just odd, with its little side turret […]

The old center of Saint-Côme-d’Olt is a maze of medieval streets and alleys. They provided much-needed shade as I explored the village. I had several hours to do this, as my gîte wasn’t scheduled to open until 3 PM. My plan was to explore, find a bar and grab some substantive lunch, and then head back to the church. These […]

Despite drinking at least two liters of water – and several Oranginas – I was suffering from heat exhaustion. I spent quite a while in the coolness of the Église Saint-Côme-et-Saint-Damien. In addition to a relief from the outside temperatures, there was just something about the quality of light in the church that was mesmerizing. Normally I’m not a fan […]

After stopping for a bite to eat, Loïc, Irene, and I visited the Église Saint-Côme-et-Saint-Damien – the church with the twisty steeple. There we cooled down – outside it was more than 90° F (32° C) – and prayed. This Gothic church was initially built as a castle chapel in the 14th century, becoming became a parish church about a […]

Let’s take a moment to examine this Camino sign in the village of Saint-Côme-d’Olt. The symbols in the upper corners are the traditional drinking gourd of the pilgrim and the snail with its shell, perhaps a symbol of the pilgrims themselves with their slow pace and backpack. The shell is of course a symbol of Saint James and of the […]

Having outpaced Luca and Selene (and their dog Lili), I caught up with their daughter Maria, who was walking with a couple who had been my roommates the previous night. Loïc and Irene are from Spain. Loïc owns a bar in Valencia, and Irene is an engineer. Together we walked into most beautiful village in France. More about that twisty […]

The Italians and I walked steadily over a variety of road surfaces and generally downwards towards today’s destination: the pretty little village of Saint-Côme-d’Olt. At one point we inexplicably had to climb uphill. The land transitioned into scattered woodland and pasture and finally full forest again as we resumed our descent into the valley of the Lot River. When we […]

As the Camino wound its way down into the valley of the Lot River, I walked with the Italian family I’d had dinner with last night. Luca is a cardiac surgeon, and his wife Selene speaks English with a Midwest accent. Their college-aged daughter Maria is studying hospitality and has nearly perfect English. They are walking with their little white […]